Black and White
by annetaco
Summary: Can time heal a broken heart? Or are some wounds too deep for salvation? Sasuke knows he hasn't moved on, but will Gaara give their love another chance? Sequel to Shake it Up.
1. What's Your Name Again?

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Fucking bird…" mumbled a hung-over Sasuke as he lay in bed, his face buried deeply into his pillow. He began waving his arm aimlessly, trying to hit the snooze button. Instead, his hand grazed warm, naked flesh lying next to his sleeping form and he woke suddenly with a start, turning his face to look at whatever poor soul his drunken self had seduced the previous night.

Sasuke's eyes caught a lock of long, red hair and his heart gave a small jolt of pain. Even when he was trashed out of his mind, he still longed for that red hair. The owner of said hair turned to him suddenly and smiled widely, way too cheery for seven o'clock in the morning. He gave her a stern look. Sasuke would _never_ be that happy in the morning. She covered her bare chest playfully and jumped up from the bed, taking the comforter with her to wrap toga-style around herself.

"Do you want to go to breakfast together?" she practically sung as she bustled around the room, picking up loose pieces of clothing. Sasuke sat up lazily and hid his face in his hands. _Why did they always want to go to breakfast?_

"Sorry…eh…um…"

"Asuka," she said sharply, catching onto his rejection.

"Asuka," he repeated. "I would but I have class in…" he looked at his watch and jumped up suddenly "five minutes!" He looked at her pleadingly and she nodded.

"Okay, I'll call you later and we can do lunch!" she said happily, pulling a black tee-shirt that was _way_ too small to cover her well-endowed form over her head. She skipped over and kissed him lightly on the cheek before hurrying out of the room so he could get ready.

With a sigh, Sasuke collapsed back onto his bed, covering himself with the abandoned comforter. _Hopefully she won't realize it's Saturday until tomorrow_, he thought to himself as he stared at the ceiling, now too awake to get any more precious hours of sleep. _Gaara__ never would have fallen for that_.

"Not that I'd _want _to get rid of him," Sasuke whispered out loud as he closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to naked bodies, embracing each other as the sun came up against the horizon. _But he wanted to get rid of me. Or maybe…just himself._

It had been Sasuke that discovered Gaara's unconscious form, lying on his bed three years ago. Naruto had called the Uchiha, worried that Gaara might do something brash because of Neji's sudden death, and he had rushed over immediately only to find an empty bottle of sleeping pills and a broken Gaara, barely clinging to life.

It had been Sasuke that called the ambulance, held Gaara's limp hand while his stomach was pumped, sat and watched over him for days without sleep while he lied on the bed, fighting bleakly for every breath. When the doctors informed Sasuke that Gaara would, indeed, live, the Uchiha got up without a word and walked away, never looking back on the redhead that broke his heart.

Gaara had dropped out of school that year, and didn't return as a senior. He began working full-time for his sister and Sasuke had recently heard that he had opened a second Temari's Place in the very city where the Uchiha was attending University. Sasuke was now in the middle of his sophomore year and was serving as a Resident Attendant in Suna Hall. Thus, he had his own room, allowing for all of the "private" company that his drunken self desired at late hours of the night.

Not surprising was the fact that Sakura was none too pleased with Sasuke's promiscuous behavior. She often scolded him and made loud accusations of the STDs that he had undoubtedly acquired from his latest rendez-vous. They had many classes together since they had both been accepted into the honors program and her nagging voice was quite annoying sometimes as it seemed to constantly buzz in his ear.

Naruto, on the other hand, had sort of attempted to go to University their first year out of high school, but flunked out after a mere semester. He was currently stationed on Iruka's (or should I say, _Kakashi's_) couch, drowning his sorrows in a bowl of soggy ramen. It turns out, Hinata had a break down after killing Neji. She was serving time in the local mental institution. Her only visitor, Hanabi. The rest of the family would not forgive her for murdering their genius progeny.

Thus, Naruto was miserable. Unable to face the woman he loved as he felt guilty for letting her drive drunk in the first place. For that matter, he felt guilty for driving her to teenage alcoholism after getting her pregnant and pressuring her into an abortion.

No one was happy. Lee had gotten into a school farther away, and his and Sakura's relationship had not been able to survive the long-distance. Sasuke was driven to promiscuity by a broken heart. Gaara was stuck in the monotonous lifestyle of store manager/cashier. Naruto hadn't showered in weeks. Hinata struggled occasionally in her straight jacket as she stared angrily at the blank, white wall of her cell.

Well, the only disagreement Iruka and Kakashi ever had was who would be on top (there was never really any contest). And as for Itachi and Temari…

_"You are cordially invited to the union of Itachi and Temari to be held on Friday, May 13th. RSVP by…"_ Sasuke read quietly, his body rigged as he stood fixed next to his mailbox.

"Fuck," he muttered, skimming the rest of the invitation. He closed his eyes, just imagining all of the people he'd been avoiding for two years, all meeting up together to torture him with questions. Questions of his sexuality. Of his life at school. Of Gaara…

_Gaara_! Gaara will be there! Sasuke hit his head softly on the metal mailbox a few times, but his self-abuse was cut short but a loud squeal.

"Sasuke!!! Did your professor let you out early? We can totally brunch together now!" Asuka ran and jumped forcefully into the irritated Uchiha's arms. He was too anxious about seeing Gaara again to protest and let himself be led towards the dining hall, the wedding invitation hanging loosely in his hand.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Did you miss me? It's been a few months, but I told you there'd be a sequel. I can't believe I actually followed through. :D I've been in college for about a month now and am loving it!**

**Anyway, in case any of you are going, "WTF is this story?" it's the sequel to Shake it Up by yours truly. Although I highly recommend that story (one of my personal favorites teehee) I wrote this opener chapter in case any of you just don't feel like reading a whole other story. Basically, just as a review, Sasuke and Gaara were an "item" in high school but Gaara sacrificed their relationship so Sasuke would be accepted into the world. Our favorite little redhead then started a relationship with Neji that was cut short when Hinata plowed him down with her car. Hahah I am so evil. Gaara tried killing himself in a last attempt to keep himself from Sasuke, but as I explain in this chapter, Sasuke saves Gaara and the whole gang basically goes their seperate ways.**

**So, read. Review. I love feedback. I know this chapter is relatively short, but I am really getting the hang of writing longer chapters with the Harry Potter fic I am working on now. So look forward to longer chapters. In fact, just as Shake it Up was born out of procrastinating on another story, as is its sequel. I dunno, I'm just in a Naruto mood now rather than a Harry Potter mood.**

**Oh, and there are some mild cross-overs in this story just because I usually hate making OCs. You may or may not pick up on them.**

**-TBC**


	2. Cold in the Ground

**-cough- Explanation after chapter?**

* * *

"Gaara…Gaara…?" The redhead's green eyes opened a fraction and looked around, but closed again when he saw it was just Tohru, his needy assistant manager.

"Gaara, there's a blond man asking for you up front." This got his attention; there weren't many blond guys in Suna.

"Did he say what he wants?" he asked, standing up from his desk and stretching.

"Nope." Tohru looked a little scared to have disturbed him from his nap. "He just said, 'Go wake Gaara up, I need to talk to him.'"

Gaara rolled his eyes. Now there was no doubt who was asking for him. He looked warily at the half-opened wedding invitation sticking out from the drawer and sighed. "Maybe you should go take a lunch break, I'll cover the register."

Tohru beamed at him and skipped out of the door, closely followed by Gaara, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. As she walked out of the front entrance of the store, Gaara's eyes caught a flash of yellow and quickly dodged behind the register for protection.

"Gaara you lazy bum, is this how Temari taught you work ethic?" cried a familiar, grating voice.

"This coming from the guy who's been asleep on his guardian's couch for over a year," said Gaara, smirking at Naruto's angry face.

"Well, no one told me college would be so hard!" said Naruto as he sat on the counter. "I like what you've done with the place by the way."

They both turned to look at Temari's Place, which was a very different counterpart to the one started by Gaara's sister four years ago. In place of surfboards and beach clothes was an array of dark, chic apparel. A small snowboarding display in the corner was all that remained of the sporting goods line Temari had intended Gaara to set up in the city. But there just wasn't a market for bathing suits in a place that hardly ever reached t-shirt weather.

"Did you come all the way here to talk store management?" asked Gaara as he rearranged a ring stand next to the register.

"No, actually," said Naruto, and Gaara looked up to see the blond blushing a little. "It's interesting that you bring up the couch thing because…" he chewed on his nails a bit before continuing, "…I've decided to move out of Iruka's place."

"Really? Did Iruka kick you out?"

"He's definitely threatened to a couple of times, but that's not it." Naruto looked around the store again, not meeting Gaara's eyes. "I was actually surprised Kakashi let me stay so long. And when I packed I swear he even looked a little sad."

"You've packed already?" asked Gaara, surprised at his old friend's rashness. He hadn't seen Naruto in months but from what he remembered, he was a bit lazy when it came to doing anything productive.

"Uh, yeah," said Naruto, pointing to the ground at his feet. Gaara leaned over the counter and saw a rucksack stuffed to the brim with dirty laundry and ramen.

"So you need a place to stay," said Gaara, knowing the answer before he asked it.

"Yeah," said Naruto, "But as a roommate, paying rent and everything." The blond looked at Gaara with his most endearing smile and the redhead couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes again. When he didn't say anything, Naruto continued. "When I RSVP'd to the wedding, I mentioned to Temari that I needed a place to stay and she said your apartment had an extra bedroom so I thought I would just wing it and if you said 'no,' I could go bother Sasuke."

Naruto stopped talking abruptly after saying Sasuke's name. But Gaara had trained himself to not react to his name. "Yes you can stay Naruto," he said, not acknowledging the awkward moment. "If we split the rent, it will be five hundred a month each."

The blond's face split into a wide smile. A bit _too _wide if Gaara was being completely honest with himself. Neither of them had mentioned Hinata yet, and the redhead wasn't about to be the first to start _that _uncomfortable conversation. So he decided to just let Naruto stay and find out his motives later.

"Do you have a job yet?" asked Gaara, and Naruto nodded.

"Yeah it's actually right down the street," he answered with a hint of his old mischievousness gleaming in his eyes. "Some old dupe actually hired me as a waiter at that coffee shop."

"_That _should be interesting," said Gaara, and they both paused to imagine the trouble the blond was capable of getting himself into. "When do you start?"

Naruto looked at the clock hanging over the door and gave a little jump off the counter. "Five minutes ago actually," he said as he reached down to grab his bag. "I told him I could start training today after I took care of some things." With that, Naruto ran out the door without a backwards glance.

"_That idiot doesn't even know where I live," _thought Gaara as he stared at the empty space the blond had occupied seconds before. As if on cue, Tohru came bouncing in, tying her workers' apron around her waist and taking her place next to Gaara behind the register.

"Sorry I took so long at lunch," she said, partially out of breath and staring ahead with determination. "It won't happen again."

"Tohru, you were gone ten minutes, maybe," said Gaara as he stepped pointedly away from her. "Do you think you could close today? I've got some stuff I have to do." Tohru let out an annoying "eep" and nodded, blushing at the added responsibility.

"_I need to find more confident help around here," _he thought as he grabbed his jacket and bag off the peg and walked out the door. He thought about telling her to not burn the place down, but then decided that his karma was bad enough without him tempting it.

Gaara walked briskly through the busy streets, pulling his jacket on as he went. It was one they stocked at the store, dark black with big buttons down the front. Surprisingly warm and as Tohru constantly reminded him, "Very 'in' right now." He stopped outside the coffee shop he assumed Naruto was talking about, and was reassured as he heard a loud crash and yelling coming from inside.

"You're supposed to _bring _the customers their order, not DROP it on them, Uzumaki! You're already on thin ice and it hasn't even been five minutes yet!"

"Sorry Ibiki," Gaara heard Naruto's laugh behind the apology, "I'm not very good at balancing things."

Gaara smirked to himself before walking into the warmth of the shop. In the middle of the store stood a very angry couple drenched in what appeared to be steaming coffee. Naruto was trying to wipe them off with a dirty rag and a tall, harsh looking man that Gaara assumed must be Ibiki was tapping his foot with his arms crossed.

"Well you better _get _good at balancing things or you won't last the day," Ibiki said before storming away to the kitchens. Naruto continued to apologize to the couple, but Gaara didn't think the blond's sheepish grin was very convincing. As they pulled on their coats and walked irately out the front door, Naruto saw Gaara and smirked.

"I might need a backup," he said as he kneeled down to clean the mess he'd made. "Know anyone that's hiring?"

Gaara laughed a bit. "If you're thinking Temari's Place, forget it," he said. "I can only imagine the damage you could do with a stack full of hangers in your hands."

Naruto got to his feet and wiped his hands on his uniform. "Well I guess I will just have to stick this one out," he said. "Is there any reason in particular you're here or did you just miss my face?"

"I just came by to tell you my address you idiot," said Gaara, rolling his eyes. People seemed to do that around Naruto a lot.

"Don't bother, Temari told me when I talked to her," said Naruto and he stuck his hands into his pockets. "I wrote it down right…here…" Naruto turned his empty pockets out and looked around on the floor.

"Right," said Gaara, pulling a sharpie out of his satchel and scribbling his address on Naruto's arm (which was still searching for a nonexistent piece of paper, mind you). "Try not to lose that one," he added before turning to go.

"Thanks," shouted Naruto after him. "I expect dinner to be waiting for me when I come home from work!"

"_Don't roll your eyes. Don't roll your eyes," _thought Gaara to himself as his face was hit with the chilly city air.

As he made his way to the supermarket (he didn't want Naruto to yell at him for not having food in the house) Gaara thought about the conversation they'd had.

"_If you said 'no,' I could go bother Sasuke." _It was so matter-of-fact that Gaara couldn't get it out of his head. Temari had mentioned that Sasuke went to school in the city, but Gaara tried not to dwell on it. There was hardly a night where he didn't dream of Sasuke's dark eyes or his shaggy hair or the way his breath got ragged after kissing or the soft contours of his naked body…

To say the least, Gaara could not stop thinking about Sasuke. But his thoughts were plagued with other images as well, like the disfigured body of Neji under Hinata's car. Or Temari crying over his body as he tried to answer the doctors' questions about his suicide attempt. If nothing else, it was that image that sustained him. He could not try to kill himself again after seeing how he had hurt Temari.

He knew that Sasuke had been the one to save him, but this idea only made it harder to stay alive. Sasuke had wanted him alive so badly, would he ever move on after Gaara? Yet Sasuke had also stopped talking to him afterwards. Although this probably had something to do with Gaara dropping out of high school.

Whenever his mind wandered consciously to memories of his and Sasuke's relationship, Gaara had to keep reminding himself that he had done the right thing. That Sasuke was better off in a heterosexual relationship where society would accept him. But if he had stayed with Sasuke, Neji would still be alive. And he wasn't even sure if Sasuke was dating women!

All of these ideas played in cruel montages through Gaara's head day in and day out as he sat behind his desk or catered to Tohru's never-ending barrage of questions. And he'd been thinking about them even more since the wedding invitation came.

Would Sasuke go? Even if it was his brother's wedding, it's not like the two got along very well. And whenever he asked himself this, he couldn't decide if he wanted to see Sasuke or not. His longing and his love battled desperately with each other over and over until he was dizzy.

Gaara found himself with a basket of food in line at the supermarket and wondered how he got there. As usual, his mind had kept him occupied for the entire trip. He jumped when the cashier said his name.

"Gaara?" Pale eyes and long dark hair caught him off guard and he stared blankly for a minute before answering.

"Yes?" he said, voice shaky. This day was starting to get weird.

"You're Gaara, aren't you?" said the cashier. Gaara read her name tag out loud and gave a yelp of surprise.

"Hyuuga Hanabi? You're not…"

"Yeah, I'm Hinata's sister," she said, sounding uncertain. It didn't help that the growing line behind Gaara was beginning to make exasperated noises. Some people were tapping their feet impatiently while others just sighed and looked stern.

"Oh," he said. "What are you doing working here?"

"I just moved up here to be closer to Hinata. She got transferred last week," she said as she began to ring up the items in Gaara's basket.

"_So _that's _why Naruto moved out of Iruka's place," _thought Gaara as he pulled out his wallet.

"Where is your family living now?" asked Gaara as he swiped his card.

"Oh, it's just me," she said, bagging the groceries and avoiding his eyes, "I'm living in the apartment complex around the corner."

"Not Sandy Shores?" he asked. She nodded. "I live their too. On the third floor."

"Really? I'm on the eleventh," she said as the man behind Gaara cleared his throat.

"Well," said Gaara, glaring a bit at the old man, "I guess we'll probably being seeing each other around then."

"Yeah, probably."

"Naruto just moved in with me today actually." Gaara regretted the words right after he said them. Hanabi's eyes turned cold, not unlike the eyes Gaara had seen Neji give people whom he wanted to scare.

"That's cool," she said, staring at the register. "See you later."

Gaara wasn't exactly sure why Naruto would be a sore subject for Hanabi, although he knew it must have something to do with Hinata. But regardless, he grabbed his bags and made a quick exit into the street.

With Hanabi living in the same building with them and Itachi and Temari's wedding coming up in a few short weeks, it looked like Gaara was going to be coming to grips with a lot of things in a little amount of time.

At the very least, he and Naruto would probably be having an awkward chat over dinner that night…

* * *

**Eh heh. Eh heh. So this is what fanfiction is like...? I really doubt anyone was holding their breath for this story to continue (because if you were, then you are passed out right now from lack of oxygen). Needless to say, it's been years.**

**I recently got caught up on Naruto, which inexplicably reawakened my desire to continue this storyline. For those of you who WERE waiting, my humblest apologies! Life got in the way as it so often does. I now find myself about to start my last semester of college, believe it or not.**

**I obviously can't make any promises about updating this story on a regular basis. But what I can tell you is that I will probably be finding myself with a lot of free time on my hands fairly soon. Winter break is about to start, and after graduation who knows if I'll get a job?**

**So enjoy this chapter. And look for more to come; now that I've started thinking about it again I've got all sorts of ideas. I also eagerly await your feedback.**

**R&R?**


	3. It's Been a Pleasure

**Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters from Naruto. But I did just flirt with a guy in the laundry room. Kudos to me.**

* * *

"Do you really have no friends, Itachi?" asked Sasuke. The young Uchiha was standing on a stool in front of a mirror stuck like a pincushion. Needless to say, he was not a happy camper.

Itachi's sigh sounded muffled behind the dressing room door. "I know we don't get along, but could you at least pretend to be happy for me?"

Sasuke rubbed the side of his face with one of his tux's too long sleeves. "Oh, believe me, I'm happy. Temari has been doing me a huge favor these past four years with keeping you out of my hair." The tailor came back from the bathroom and knelt down to pin the hem of Sasuke's pants. Sasuke glared at him for a minute before carrying on. "I just don't see why _I _have to be your best man. It's bad enough that I have to go to your damn wedding."

"Because you're my brother," said Itachi. He opened the door to his dressing room and stepped out, the heels of his shoes clicking softly on the tile floor. He went to stand next to Sasuke and looked his brother's reflection in the eye as he adjusted his tie. "I know it's hard to believe but you mean more to me than anything in the world and I want you to be a part of this thing."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and winced as the tailor pinned his ankle by accident. As he looked back in the mirror, a flash of red from the window behind him made him turn his head to look out on the city street outside.

There was nothing there, just the usual hustle and bustle of Saturday afternoons in the city.

"_Must have been my imagination, but I was sure it was Gaara for a second," _thought Sasuke to himself before turning back to look at his reflection in the mirror. Next to Itachi, who filled out his tux perfectly without any alterations, he looked especially ridiculous. He had grown since high school, but compared to his brother, Sasuke would always feel a little small.

"Do you ever see Gaara around?" asked Itachi, as if he knew what his brother was thinking.

"No."

"He's been living here for a few months now. I would have thought you guys might try to catch up."

"Why? I haven't talked to him in years, not since…" Sasuke stopped. He couldn't even bring himself to say the words, _"He tried to kill himself." _They were too painful even now. _"Whoever said time heals all wounds must have been stoned," _thought Sasuke as the tailor motioned for him to get down off the stool. He went into the nearest dressing room and began gingerly removing the tux so as not to disturb the pins.

"Well I know you guys were really close. It just doesn't seem right that you wouldn't try to make amends," said Itachi as he stepped into the dressing room next to Sasuke's. "I don't even know why you stopped talking."

"That's not an accident," said Sasuke, as he pulled on his jeans. "It's really none of your business."

Itachi didn't respond. He paid the tailor for their suits and arranged to pick them up in a week. As they walked out the front door, he said, "Want to grab a bite? Temari said there's this great coffee shop up the street. My treat."

Sasuke looked at the sidewalk as an inner battle raged on. He didn't want to spend more time with Itachi, but it's against a college student's nature to pass up free food. Even one that has a limitless bank account.

"I guess," he said, trying to sound as reluctant as possible.

"Really? Sweet," said Itachi as they began walking against the crowd.

"Don't try to sound cool," said Sasuke, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

* * *

Sasuke and Itachi waited for a good twenty minutes in their booth before Sasuke stopped one of the frantic waitresses and asked her where their server was.

"Oh, um, let me go check in back," she said as she fumbled with her notepad.

"Yeah, this place is _so_ great," said Sasuke, glaring at his brother as the waitress ran off.

"Hey, it's not _my _fault. I was just trying to feed my beloved brother."

"I'm leaving in five seconds." Sasuke started pulling on his jacket but stopped as a very familiar blond bounded up to their table.

"Sasuke? Itachi? What are you guys doing here?" asked Naruto, laughing and pulling out a pen.

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked. "Since when did you work here? Since when did you _work_?"

"I just started today actually. Gotta pay the rent somehow."

"I thought you were living on Kakashi's couch," interjected Itachi. Sasuke raised his eyebrows at his brother. "What? I heard Iruka and him talking about it in the teachers' lounge."

"No I'm actually living with Gaara now."

Sasuke's heart gave a little leap. He played with the salt and pepper shakers for a minute before asking, "Where does he live?"

"Um…" Naruto looked down at his arm, where a smudged address was written. "Sandy Shores, apartment 309. You guys should come have dinner with us tonight! I think Gaara's making me something special to celebrate getting a job. Don't tell him I told you though."

Itachi nodded and opened his mouth but Sasuke quickly interjected. "Sorry we can't. We have to help Temari…with something." He glared at Itachi, hoping his brother would take the hint.

"Uh…yeah," said Itachi. "Sorry. But we'll get to hang out soon. May 13th is only a couple weeks away."

Naruto stared at him for a second before smiling broadly. "Oh right! The wedding!" He looked like he wanted to say more, but a harsh voice shouted out from the kitchens.

"Uzumaki! Where are you? Did you take table 17's order yet?"

The blond laughed and scratched his head with the pen in his hand. "So…what can I get you fine gentlemen today?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ordered a couple cheeseburgers and a Coke. Itachi got a coffee roll and an espresso.

"Could you be any more of a woman?" asked Sasuke as he ate his burgers and watched Itachi sip his espresso.

"One, it's a _coffee_ shop, what did you expect? Two, if I was a woman, I would have ordered the salad. And three, when did you become such a sexist?"

"When I went to college."

"Right. I knew I should have homeschooled you."

"Anything else I can get you guys?" asked Naruto as he walked by their booth.

"Just the bill, beautiful," said Sasuke as he finished his Coke.

"Such a tease," said Naruto as he laughed and handed Itachi a piece of paper. "Sasuke, you have to hook me up with some of these college parties now that I'm in town."

"Why don't you just _go to college_? Then you won't have to harass me for connections."

"Hey, I tried it once, and once was more than enough!"

"Naruto, you can't wait tables the rest of your life," said Itachi in his most grown up voice.

"He won't be waiting tables AT ALL if he doesn't stop chatting up his customers," shouted the ever omniscient Ibiki from the other side of the shop.

Naruto turned around and gave him a thumbs up. "Won't happen again, old man!" he said as he ran off to another table.

As Itachi and Sasuke left, they heard Ibiki's shouts about being much younger than he appeared.

"Now what?" asked Itachi, pulling his coat tightly around himself as a gust of wind billowed past them on the street.

"Now _I _go back to school and _you _go home," said Sasuke as he began walking away.

"What? I thought we were bonding!" Itachi shouted after him as he disappeared into the crowd.

"No, _you _were bonding. _I _was eating," Sasuke said before turning the corner.

* * *

"So then Ibiki said, 'The only reason I'm not firing you is because you earned your weight in tips today and I have NO IDEA how you did it. And then I said, 'Communication is key, old man. Never fear, I will teach you my ways.' And then he told me to stop talking and leave before he changed his mind."

Naruto and Gaara were sitting on the floor in front of the TV later that night. There were empty bowls scattered around them that had moments before contained an assortment of ramen dishes. The blond surveyed the damage and sighed.

"Gaara, you sure know the way to a man's heart," he said before falling back onto the carpet.

"You're not that hard to read," said Gaara, standing up and stacking the bowls before heading into the kitchen.

As the redhead washed the dishes, he heard Naruto start channel surfing and decided that now was as good a time as any to bring up what happened at the supermarket that afternoon.

"I ran into Hanabi today," he half-shouted. He heard the channel surfing stop and decided to continue. "She just moved into Sandy Shores actually, 11th floor. She's working at the supermarket down the street."

Gaara heard Naruto's muffled steps walking towards the kitchen and turned around.

"Did she say why she moved?" the blond asked, leaning against the door frame.

"Hinata got transferred last week," said Gaara, turning back towards the sink. "She wanted to be closer I guess."

Naruto didn't say anything. He walked over and grabbed a dishrag to dry the bowels. Gaara waited for a reaction, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn streak of scum.

"I didn't move here to be closer to Hinata," said Naruto, sighing as he piled up the clean bowels and put them in the cupboard.

"Then why _did _you move here? I thought you were resigned to live on Kakashi's couch for the rest of your life."

"Even before Hinata got transferred, I didn't visit her," said Naruto, hanging the rag onto a nail in the wall and reaching into the fridge for a beer.

Gaara was surprised to hear this. After he dropped out of high school, he'd heard that Naruto's grades were slipping. He had just assumed it was from worrying about Hinata. _"Doesn't he still love her?" _he thought but dared not ask out loud. But Naruto continued.

"I couldn't face her…after what happened to Neji," he said, again leaning against the doorframe. Gaara, finished with the dishes, jumped up to sit on the counter. The redhead remained expressionless at the mention of Neji's name, just like he had when Naruto casually mentioned Sasuke that afternoon. Both men's images played so often in his mind that it wasn't too hard to pretend he had moved on.

"A couple weeks ago," Naruto continued, "Hanabi called me, furious, saying that it was my fault Hinata wasn't getting better and had to get transferred. I didn't even know she was being transferred! So I manned up and ran over to the hospital to see if I could do anything." He stopped, and Gaara noticed that it looked like he was trying very hard to swallow.

"At first it was like she wasn't even in there," he said after several swigs of his beer. "I just sat on one side of the table and Hinata was on the other, staring over my shoulder at the wall." Naruto's eyes looked past Gaara, remembering. "After a while of that, she all of a sudden started screaming at me! She said that it wasn't my fault that she got pregnant. And then she said that I needed to stop blaming myself for letting her drive that…that night."

Gaara nodded.

"And then she said that I needed to move on. She said her problems were her problems and mine were mine."

There was a long pause. "She sounds pretty lucid to me," said Gaara, hugging his knees.

"That's what I thought," said Naruto. "And then she told me that she'd been having problems long before we got together, and that all of that stuff with the abortion and with Neji was just the straw that broke the camel's back." He grabbed two more beers out of the fridge and threw one to Gaara.

"And THEN she told me to go take a shower and get over her because she couldn't take the guilt of my ruined life on top of everything else." Naruto rolled his eyes and downed his beer.

"So…then you ran back to Iruka's and packed your bags?" asked Gaara, taking a sip.

"Not exactly. I told Hinata I would get it together and then as I was leaving I ran into Hanabi in the parking lot."

"Hanabi?"

"Yeah. And I don't know what came over me! Maybe it's because I hadn't had sex in three years or because of Hinata getting me all fired up or what."

"What?"

"I grabbed Hanabi and started making out with her!" said Naruto, standing straight and throwing his hands in the air.

"You _what_?" said Gaara, sliding off the counter onto his feet.

"I stuck my tongue down her throat! I violated a minor!" said Naruto, throwing his head into his available hand.

"Why?!"

"Dammit, didn't I just say I don't _know_?" Naruto sighed, rubbing his eyes. "But basically she maced me right in the face and then gave me the meanest look I have ever seen on a girl's face. And I grew up with Sakura, mind you."

"That would explain why she looked so mad when I mentioned you at the store," said Gaara, leaning against the counter and taking another drink of his beer.

"You _talked _about me?!"

"No, just mentioned you." The two were quiet for a few minutes, thinking about the weight of their conversation.

"Wait," said Gaara, interrupting the silence. "So why did you move here?" He had a feeling he knew the answer already.

"Well, I mean," said Naruto, looking up at the redhead with a slight blush. "I really do need to get my life together. But mostly, Hanabi man."

Gaara's eyes grew wide with understanding. "You _followed _her here?"

"No! I mean. Yes. But not to this building! _That's _just a coincidence. OR fate," he said, laughing a little and raising his eyebrows, waiting for Gaara to pass judgment.

"So you're just over Hinata like that," said the redhead, snapping his fingers. "You make out with her sister, she maces you in the faces, and it's love?"

"I wouldn't say _love_," said Naruto, shrugging. "But it was like electricity. I swear I've never felt anything like it. Even when me and Hinata were at our peak it didn't feel like that."

"That's because with Hinata it was _consensual_," said Gaara as he rolled his eyes. "I always knew you had issues, ever since you duct taped Sasuke to that chair…"

They looked at each other, a bit startled that Gaara had just said Sasuke's name out loud. Another awkward pause passed as the redhead finished his beer.

"So what's the plan now?" he asked. "How exactly are you going to win over Hanabi? I mean she clearly thinks you are a rapist with no sense of right or wrong."

"It's in the works," said Naruto. "I didn't even know Hanabi lived in this building. That should make it easier."

"Easier to what? Woo her?"

"More or less."

Gaara mentally forced himself to not roll his eyes. "I'm going to bed."

Naruto sighed. "Fine, I was gonna go for a walk."

Gaara smelled trouble. "No, _you're _going to bed too."

"What? I had no idea you felt that way about me," said Naruto as he took a step towards the redhead and wiggled his eyebrows.

"No, I just don't feel like getting evicted because my idiot roommate is harassing our underaged neighbors," said Gaara as he walked past Naruto into his bedroom. "You can sleep in your own damn bed." And with that he slammed the door.

"Don't think we're done talking about the hidden feelings you have for me!" shouted Naruto through the door before heading off to his own room.

* * *

**Wow, you guys didn't think I would actually update again, did you? I was feeling particularly generous after finishing one of my last papers of the semester so I thought I would work some of these problems out a little. I feel like I've made little puzzles for myself to solve because I don't remember where I was going with this storyline. **

**Anyway, if my speedy update doesn't merit some reviews, I think the fact that this is literally my longest chapter every written for any of my stories after over 4 years of membership. So, do a girl a favor :D**


	4. Five Percent Perspiration

**Ask and ye shall receive.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Naruto characters, only this incredibly shaky storyline.**

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_Hanabi stood to the side of the crowd, watching as Neji's casket was lowered into the ground. While those around her tried to stifle their sobs, the youngest Hyuuga seemed beyond tears as she thought of her cousin's wasted life. Neji had been spoiled beyond recognition after moving in with her family. Her father, desperate for a son, showered every gift he could think of onto his nephew, and the once humble boy soon grew into a childish man who grabbed first and asked questions later. _

_After he'd had surgery, Hanabi had begun seeing a change in him, a return to the quiet sadness that had engulfed Neji after his parents' death. She wondered about the reason, but had never been close with him and could not confront him about it, nor could she comfort him. Gaara's hasty entrance into Neji's life had lifted his spirits greatly. But she forever worried that the damage had been done, that her cousin would always retain an air of getting everything he wanted. And before her doubts could be confirmed or proven wrong, he had been taken from her. He had been taken from them all._

_A shriek brought Hanabi out of her reverie, and she was startled to see Hinata's body shaking violently on the ground. Her family looked down at her in disgust as she cried, pounding her fists onto the ground. Hyuuga Hiashi, who had pulled some strings and gotten her out jail to avoid further embarrassment, turned his head in shame as Hanabi rushed to her sister's aid. Hanabi fell to her knees and gently coaxed Hinata off the ground. With her arms around Hinata's shoulders, Hanabi led her towards the line of cars. As soon as they were inside the nearest limousine, Hinata passed out in a dead faint, and Hanabi, unable to wake her, yelled at the driver to take them to a hospital._

_Where was Naruto? Why hadn't he been there to give Hinata the support that she needed? How could he leave her alone to bear this burden?_

There was a leak coming from the twelfth floor. The steady drip chipped away at Hanabi's daze until she sat up abruptly from her bed, looking around for the disturbance.

She saw a small pool of water glistening on the kitchen tiles down the hall. Sighing, she stood up, grabbed a towel off the floor, and went to mop it up. Once the floor was dry again, she looked up angrily at the ceiling, which appeared swollen and water-logged. "Great," she murmured, picking up a bowl off the counter and placing it underneath the leak. A steady plunking sound continued to echo after her as she walked back into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

As she fell into bed, her thoughts wandered back to Naruto's betrayal. And after he'd had the _nerve _to abandon Hinata, he's taken it a step further and _violated_ her in a parking lot.

"_Don't pretend you didn't like it," _argued the part of her closest to the tingling sensation in her stomach. Hanabi grumbled to herself but could not verbalize a response.

Luckily, she'd had her pepper spray ready for such an occasion and had maced the sleezeball on principal. But not before a creature had awoken in her unlike she'd ever felt before. She thought she could avoid any repercussions once she moved to the city, but of course that blond idiot had taken it upon himself to get his life together and move along with her.

"_He's just sick," _she thought to herself. _"Me and Hinata could practically be twins and he's moved on to the one that's _not _in a straightjacket." _Images of their kiss played again and again in her head. She rubbed her eyes until they ached, trying to cleanse the act from her mind. But it would not budge. And as she drifted into a restless sleep, her thoughts continued to stray to the blond living eight floors below her.

* * *

"Uchiha…" Sasuke grumbled into his arms. "Uchiha!" yelled the persistent voice and he jumped at his desk, jerking his head to attention.

"Yeah?" he said, his voice groggy. His professor glared at him and he heard Sakura whisper into his ear.

"He asked you what you thought about Ichabod Crane's disappearance," she said, giving his knee a push to wake him up a little more. Sasuke looked down at the open book on his desk, which had a small puddle of drool in the middle of the page.

"He was…um…" he searched around in his head for the details of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" that he's skimmed over the night before. "He knew that Katrina would not be happy with him, that he wasn't what she wanted." The class stared at him. "So…he split," he ended lamely. The professor, a man in thick glasses and a green vest whose name escaped Sasuke at the moment, gave a huff of indignation and turned to face the board.

"There has been speculation…" started the professor, but Sasuke was already dozing in his hands when Sakura punched him in the shoulder and he snorted awake again.

"What the hell have you been doing that's been keeping you awake at all hours of the night?" she whispered, her eyebrows furrowed. Sasuke shrugged. "Or, more precisely, _who _have you been doing?" she said, failing to keep her voice down. A couple students in the row below them turned and gave him smirks before looking back at their books.

"No one," he whispered back honestly. Sakura looked skeptical. "I haven't slept with anyone in weeks." She sat back in her seat, surprisingly satisfied, and started taking notes on the lecture, but Sasuke continued to stare at her, his mind elsewhere.

It was true, he hadn't had sex since he found out he would be seeing Gaara at Itachi's wedding. And with the happy event only a few short days away, it was no wonder he was having trouble sleeping. He kept battling within himself, too confused about his feelings about the redhead to concentrate on anything else.

"Washington Irving will definitely be on the final next week people," yelled the professor from the front of the class, "So you better get your thoughts together." Sasuke sighed as he shoved his book into his bag and shouldered it, loping out of class after his fellow classmates. Sakura followed him as he headed to the dining hall.

"So, what are you wearing to the wedding?" she asked, stacking a couple sandwiches onto her tray as they stood in the food line. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Itachi's got me all done up in some monkey suit," he said, grabbing a banana. "I still don't see why I had to be best man." Sakura laughed as she paid for her food.

"You're his _brother_, Sasuke. When are you going to start acting like it?" Sasuke contemplated the question as he sat down at a table near the window. He took a bite of a cookie before answering.

"There are some things," he said after a moment, "That are hard to forget."

_The sound of retching. Needles bouncing on the bathroom floor. Itachi passed out naked in the bathtub, his bruised arms shivering, covered in his own sick._

Sakura stared at Sasuke but seemed to decide to close the subject because she said, "Ino and I went to the mall last weekend and picked out matching dresses. Her's is black, mine is silver. I just need to find shoes to wear…"

Sasuke was grateful for her ramblings. Despite their differences, Sakura still understood him sometimes. And after over a decade of friendship, she still knew when he needed to be alone in his own thoughts.

* * *

"Not…in…the…living room…NARUTO!" said Gaara, his eye twitching. The redhead had walked in from a particularly grueling day at Temari's Place to find Naruto, for lack of a better phrase, toking up on their couch and watching cartoons on mute. "I told you, the landlord will be able to smell it if you don't keep it in your room!"

Naruto looked at him and smiled, patting the seat next to him. Gaara's glare deepened and he stomped angrily into the kitched.

"You need to relax man," said Naruto, taking another hit. "All that pent up tension is going to eat you alive."

"YOU'RE the reason for it!" yelled Gaara, pulling a cup of ramen out of the cupboard and filling it with water before sticking it in the microwave. "And all this ramen is going to give me a heart attack!" he muttered.

"You still eat it though," said Naruto. "Besides, I think the REAL reason you're all worked up is because the wedding is tomorrow and you haven't got an outfit sexy enough for Sasuke." Gaara cursed incoherently under his breath as he pulled the ramen out and began searching for chopsticks in the drawers, slamming them shut with extra vigor.

"Did you use the last of the chopsticks?" he yelled again, placing the ramen on the counter and pulling open cabinets as he continued to look for utensils. He heard Naruto laugh from the other room.

"Maybe you should ask a neighbor if you could borrow some," the blond shouted. Gaara straightened up, grabbed his ramen and stormed out of the kitchen.

"I'll do that," he said, pushing Naruto's head as he went. "Don't you have to get ready for work?" The blond jumped off the couch at his words and sprinted for his room. Gaara rolled his eyes and walked out into the hall. He looked left, then right before remembering that he had never spoken two words to anyone on his floor. With a sigh, he made his way to the elevator. As the doors slid shut behind him, he pushed the eleven and watched anxiously as the numbers climbed higher.

With a resounding ring, the elevator stopped on the eleventh floor and he stepped out. A few nights earlier, Naruto had informed him that Hanabi lived in 1102. The blond would not disclose how he discovered such information, but although Gaara had found it disturbing then, he rumbling stomach was glad for the blond's stalkerish ways today.

He knocked twice on Hanabi's door and waited as he heard her shuffling around inside. "Coming, coming," she said, pulling the door open. "Oh, hi Gaara," she said, looking confused.

"Hey," he said, giving her a half smile and hoping that her ill feelings towards his roommate would not extend to him. "Sorry to bother you, but do you have any spare chopsticks? Nar…I mean, I've run out." He gestured to his cup ramen and was relieved to see her smile back at him.

"Sure, we get them for free at the supermarket," she said, beckoning him into her apartment and turning towards the kitchen. The layout of 1102 was identical to 309, but it appeared Hanabi hadn't bothered to get furniture yet.

"Still…getting comfortable?" he asked as she rummaged in the kitchen.

"Yeah," she said, reemerging with a handful of chopsticks. "I really need to find the right sofa, then I'll be able to plan the whole room around it." He laughed lightly and took the chopsticks from her. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few moments before she said, "So you'll be at the wedding tomorrow, right?"

"Oh, I didn't know you knew about it," he said, staring longingly at his ramen, which was starting to get cold.

"Yeah, the Hyuugas and Uchihas are distantly related, didn't you know?" Gaara shook his head. "Itachi's like my third cousin or something. I got the invite a couple weeks ago."

"Oh."

"It will be cool knowing someone there," she said, looking expectantly at him.

"Yeah." He wondered if she was expecting him to say something about Naruto, but didn't want to risk it. "Thanks, I was starving," he said, heading for the door, which was still open. "You should um…come down and visit some time. Three-oh-nine." He didn't look back to see her reaction, but closed the door behind him and started unwrapping his chopsticks as he waited for the elevator.

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**The more I think about this story, the more frustrated I become with its layout. But oh well. The wedding will be next chapter (maybe I'll add some smut if I get an adequate amount of feedback). I will probably update soon since I'm taking a super easy winter class. But reviews always inspire me to write quicker -wink wink-**

**R&R :)**


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